1725 The Jade Seals of the Yongzheng Emperor2015 SOLD for HK$ 105M including premium

The Yongzheng Emperor had an original and exquisite artistic taste. A eunuch serving as a majordomo transferred to the workshops the edicts by which the emperor expressed his desires. The records have been kept. Regarding the seals, an extreme accuracy in descriptions and sizes allows to attribute the pieces.

The 15th day of the 7th month of the third year of the reign, August 22, 1725 in our calendar, the eunuch commissions two white jade seals for the same inscription along with their boxes. Five days later a bronze prototype of the inscription is submitted to an inspection.

Both jade seals are completed in the next month, nine days apart one another. This great speed of execution is explained by the fact that the workshops had re-carved two ancient seals that the emperor himself had probably chosen in the imperial collection before issuing his order.

The smaller of the two seals, 5.5 x 5.6 cm, carved with a dragon in Yuan style, was sold for HK $ 35,4M including premium by Sotheby's on October 5, 2011.

The other seal, reworked from a Kangxi figure, is larger and more ambitious. 7.4 cm high on a square base 6.1 x 6.1 cm, it has the form of a rock on which a hornless dragon or chilong is reclining with a wide open mouth in a threatening attitude. The rock is flanked by eight other chi moving amidst clouds.

This seal is offered with its luxurious original box inlaid in ivory. It is estimated HK $ 30M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 7, lot 102.

Both seals discussed above are exceptional. Although Yongzheng has ordered more than two hundred seals during his short reign, only five have been made in jade.

Qianlong - An Imperial Jade Seal from the Guimet Collection2008 SOLD 63 MHK$ including premium

The Imperial Chinese seals are in great demand. The specimen presented by Sotheby's has the four character Imperial mark of Qianlong. In an utterly flawless white jade, it has a design of two intertwined dragons, according to a model that was already known by Kangxi, grandfather of Qianlong.

This seal, along with several others from the sale of October 8 in Hong Kong, comes from a collection that the French regard as an example: that of Emile Guimet, founder of a museum which remains the largest museum of Asian Art in Paris. This group had remained in the dining room of the Guimet family.

This jade seal is estimated beyond 50 MHK$ (4.34 M€)

On 13 and 15 June I discussed here the sale at 4.7 million € excluding costs of a Kangxi seal, large for this type of object, which was only in steatite but had the advantage to be presented with its original box.

The beauty of white jade and of dragons could generate a difference of price in favour of Sotheby's lot, which would be according to the auction house the largest jade seal of Qianlong.

POST SALE COMMENT

The Imperial Chinese seals are highly desirable, and their arrivals on the market generate a sustained interest.

The white jade seal, described above, was sold 63 MHK$ including fees. I noted its dimensions, which had not yet been published when I prepared my article: 12.5 x 12.5 cm.

In the same sale another Qianlong seal of the same material, 7.5 x 7.5 cm, also from the Guimet collection, was sold 37 MHK$ fees included on a low estimate of 5 MHK$. Considering its size, this result is particularly remarkable.

Qianlong - The Third Seal2012 SOLD 3.8 M€ including premium

The prices of the Qing imperial jade seals continue to increase. Since 2008, this column traces in detail their evolution. We should however be cautious, as shown in the example below.

On three times the auction house Chassaing-Marambat (previously Hervé Chassaing) has auctioned Qing seals. Their sales take place in Toulouse.

Sold € 5.5 million including premium on 14 June 2008, the first seal was outstanding for its period (Kangxi) and its dimensions. It did not return in the market to my knowledge, but I am willing to bet that it would be much more expensive today. Its success drew the other two.

Carved with a lying dragon, a Xintian Zhuren seal (a pseudonym of Qianlong after 1759) was sold € 3.3 million including premium on 17 April 2010. This one also did not reappear.

The third seal was carved of the most prestigious theme : two entwined dragons. From the Qianlong period and measuring 7.7 high with a 9.9 cm square print, it raised the bid of € 12.4 million including premium on 26 March 2011. The result was announced by the auction house as a world record.

One should not talk about world auction records. An operation is only complete when the lot is paid and delivered. This is not the case with the latter seal, which will be relisted at the same location on March 31.

It is a good opportunity to point out two exceptional prices announced by Poly from their sale in Beijing on December 6, 2011.

A small Tai Shang Huang Di cylinder seal (from the official name of Qianlong after his abdication) was sold RMB 160M including premium. The price of a Dao Guang seal, RMB 91M including premium, is also quite remarkable when considering its later date, 1831 in our calendar.

POST SALE COMMENT

The "record" is not confirmed. The seal was sold € 3.1 million before fees this year, after reaching € 12.4 million including premium one year ago.

According to the procedure of folle enchère (non-paying bidder) applicable under French law, the defaulting buyer shall pay a fine equal to the difference of the two prices, fees included. In this case involving an Asian buyer, such recovery may be difficult.

1786 Xintian Shuren Jade Seal2010 SOLD for HK$ 122M including premium by Sotheby's

1790 The Self Strengthening of the Qianlong Emperor​2013 SOLD 67 M RMB yuan including premium​2017 UNSOLD

PRE 2017 SALE DISCUSSION

A jade seal of the Qianlong emperor coming for sale at Poly Auction in Hong Kong on April 4 at lot 3093 had previously been discussed in this column. The essay below is based of my 2013 discussion.

On 8 October 2008 Sotheby's sold imperial seals from the personal collection of Emile Guimet who also had been the founder of a major Asian art museum in Paris. The star lot of the sale was a Qianlong white jade seal of large size, 12.5 x 12.5 cm, that sold for HK $ 63M including premium in line with the estimate.

The surprise came at lot 2007 from a smaller Qianlong jade seal that sold for HK $ 37M including premium over a lower estimate of $ 5 MHK.

This little wonder, 7.5 x 7.5 x 5.5 cm, continued its career on the art market. On 4 June 2010, it was sold for RMB yuan 56M including premium by Poly in Beijing. It was later sold for RMB yuan 67M including premium on May 12, 2013 by China Guardian, lot 3108.

The theme with two entwined dragons symbolizing the power and cleverness of the emperor is classic but the sharpness of the jade carving is exceptional, with a special care to the facial expression and the whiskers of the dragons. The polishing of flat surfaces is perfect.

Commissioned by the emperor for the festivities of his 80th birthday in the 54th year of his reign, 1790 in our calendar, it is a Zi Qiang Bu Xi, promoting self-reliance and perseverance of the emperor in the creation of progress and by that way taking care not to fall into the indolence of old age before leaving the power.

1795-1796 The Honorary Emperor2010 SOLD 96 MHK$ including premium

An exceptional longevity of its emperors ensured the stability of the Qing regime. The reign of Kangxi lasted 60 years. That of his son Yongzheng was abruptly interrupted by his sudden death in suspicious circumstances.

His successor Qianlong took as a model his grandfather Kangxi, a friend of the arts and letters. Qianlong had considered impolite to reign longer than Kangxi. After 60 years of reign, he abdicated, gave to himself the title of Emperor Emeritus (Taishanghuang) ... and retained any real power.

The first year of transition is known to Bingchen, corresponding to 1795-1796 in our calendar.

A superb white jade seal of Taishanghuang is for sale at Sotheby's in Hong Kong on April 8. Its mark is known on books, calligraphy and paintings from the imperial collection. Cylindrical, it is probably unique in its category for that time. The auction house expects HK $ 50 million.

POST SALE COMMENT

This small object 4.5 cm high will remain as the most extraordinary example of the market recovery for exceptional pieces. Indeed, its last selling at auction was recent: HK $ 46.2 million at Sotheby's on October 9, 2007.

It went throughout what some of them name the "crisis", to be sold today HK $ 96 million including premium.

This sale included also a prestigious jewel, whose price was difficult to predict. Again, it was a success: a necklace of pearls which was probably worn by Emperor Yongzheng was sold HK $ 68 million including premium, from a low estimate of HK $ 8 million. It had benefited from a good media coverage.

1796 The Emperor Supreme of the Qing​2016 SOLD for HK$ 91M including premium

The Qianlong Emperor lived for 87 years, spanning most of the eighteenth century of our calendar. He protected arts and culture with a refinement that made him in the following of his father Yongzheng the most effective art patron of all time.

He thought of his retirement which he had promised to take if his reign was to exceed 60 years. His grandfather Kangxi had reigned 61 years and this period should not be exceeded for a reason of respect. The emperor must be a model of virtue and can not change a wish or express a remorse. After a transitional year named Bingchen, the Qianlong Emperor abdicated in 1796 of our calendar.

Qianlong now becomes the Taishang Huang meaning the Emperor Supreme, a traditional title awarded in the Chinese empire to emperors who left the throne, but examples of an abdication like Qianlong's without a palace revolution are of course exceptional in Chinese history.

During his reign, Qianlong was a great lover of seals that he used to put his imperial mark on the documents and works of art that he had consulted. He had now changed his own denomination and ordered the execution of the Taishang Huangdi shi Bao seals meaning the seals of the treasure of the Emperor Supreme.

A very large seal 22.5 cm square is made for the purpose to serve as a model and will never be used. It is kept in the Palace Museum in Beijing. Copies are made in various smaller sizes using the finest jades.

The largest of the seals actually used by Taishang Huang is 13 cm square. It was carved in a boulder of green jade from Khotan on the motif of two addorsed dragons. This prestigious piece is estimated HK $ 80M for sale by Sotheby's in Hong Kong on October 5, lot 3304. It is offered with its original zitan stand but its box was lost. Please watch here below the video shared by the auction house.

We may take as references three results including premium recorded by Sotheby's. A Xintian Shuren seal of Qianlong also 13 cm square was sold for HK $ 122M on 7 October 2010. A cylindrical Bingchen seal in white jade was sold for HK $ 96M on April 8, 2010. A small Taishang Huandi seal improved with a poem explaining the abdication was sold for HK $ 64,5M on April 8, 2011.

The Imperial 'Taishang Huangdi Zhi Bao' Seal - the largest ever used by the Qianlong Emperor - fetches HK$91.5m/US$11.8m in #HKpic.twitter.com/9VPJ3SdO12

The competition is intense among Chinese buyers, whose competence may now be qualified as extreme. We now know that the bid of £ 51.6 million put in November 2010 on a Qianlong vase at Bainbridge's in the suburbs of London was not a fluke.

Gradually, the international auction houses are appreciating and accompanying the quality criteria of these new collectors who are blazing the market. In the discussion below, I focus specifically on white jade seals of Emperor Qianlong, which are a true barometer of the market thanks to the fact that they are frequent at auction.

Yesterday, March 26, at Toulouse, Chassaing et Marambat sold € 12.4M a Qianlong seal which had been estimated between 1 and 1.5 M €. Bloomberg, who was the first to forward this information, observes that buyers were interested in the beautiful transparency of the white jade and in the sharpness of his carving. This piece measures 10 x 10 cm at the base and 7.55 cm high.

On April 8 in Hong Kong, two Qianlong seals are for sale at Sotheby's.

One of them is a Xintian Zhuren (the monarch who believes in heaven), 10.7 x 10.7 cm at the base, decorated with a magnificent pair of addorsed dragons. It dates from the 25th year of the reign (1760), after Qianlong had successfully resisted a Muslim revolt.

Its estimate at HK $ 50M is low. This seal is very similar to another somewhat larger specimen, 13 x 13 cm, sold by them HK $ 120M including premium on October 7, 2010.

The other seal in the next sale is a Taishang Huangdi, 8.2 x 8.2 cm base, also with entwined dragons. Dated to the beginning of the Jiaqing era (1796), it embeds on its sides a poem in which the emeritus Emperor Qianlong explains his abdication.

The expected price, HK $ 30M, is probably taking into account some minor wear announced in the catalog. I previously discussed here a unique cylindrical Taishang Huangdi, smaller, sold twice, again at Sotheby's Hong Kong: HK $ 46M including premium on October 9, 2007, HK $ 96M including premium on April 8, 2010.

POST SALE COMMENT

The Xintian Zhuren, for which I thought that the estimate was too low, has not been sold.

The Taishang Huandi got a very good result: HK $ 64.5 million including premium. The inscribed imperial poem certainly helped to push its price.

Qing and 1933 - The Greatest Jadeite Necklace2014 SOLD 214 MHK$ including premium

The greatest diamonds of Golconda and the most beautiful jade beads from China have a common feature : the history of the extraction of the stone is lost, but only very skilled artists were able to prepare them, a task that could last several years.

The Qing greatly encouraged the work of jade, and their seals in white or green jade are among the masterpieces of their time. The emerald green jadeite was also used in jewelry.

Despite the troubles in the China of the later Qing, the most important sets of jade beads were not mixed or separated. The main quality of a necklace is the homogeneity of its beads. Any change in color, transparency or texture is a lack of taste, and for that purpose the beads must have been carved from a single boulder.

The prestige of jade reached the Western world. A lot of 27 big jadeite beads, between 15.4 and 19.2 mm in diameter, is included in 1933 in the inventory of Cartier. It is mounted in the same year by Cartier as a necklace with a clasp in ruby and diamond, to be offered as a wedding gift to the wealthy Barbara Hutton by her father. As Christina Onassis later, Barbara Hutton had a difficult life. The husband's family kept the precious necklace.

Considered as the greatest jadeite necklace in existence, this jewel twice won the highest auction price in its category : HK $ 15.6 million in 1988 and HK $ 33M in 1994. It is estimated in excess of HK $ 100M, for sale bySotheby's in Hong Kong on April 7. It is illustrated in the page shared by Blouin ArtInfo.

For comparison, a necklace of 35 jadeite beads 12.5 to 15 mm in diameter, also equipped with a clasp by Cartier, was sold for HK $ 43M including premium by Sotheby's on April 7, 2010.

POST SALE COMMENT

Pieces that are unique in their kind have no predictable price. The result, HK $ 214M including premium, rewards an extraordinary necklace.

Jadeite at Shanghai2013 SOLD 43 MHK$ including premium

The most exquisite material in Chinese jewelry is the jadeite which is the harder variety of jade and was imported from Burma. A graduating necklace of jade beads was particularly appreciated both for its beauty and as a technical feat.

Green is a common color of jadeite when it contains chromium. A perfect necklace must be uniform in color shade, in translucency and in texture, which requires that the elements have been extracted from a single stone. Shaping a jade bead requires great patience and high skill.

The realization of a necklace of jade beads could certainly take several years. Since no inscription is possible, such jewels can not be dated.

On 7 April 2010, Sotheby's sold HK $ 43M including premium a necklace composed of 35 large emerald green beads ranging in size from 12.5 to 15 mm.

On October 7 inHong Kong, Sotheby's sells a set of two homogeneous necklaces with an amazing total of 254 emerald green jadeite beads. It is estimated HK$ 22M and is illustrated in third position on the blog post shared by Sotheby's.

The press release tells that the lot was so prestigious that a previous owner traded it for an entire mansion in Shanghai. This story takes place about 70 years ago, during a very difficult period of the Republic of China.POST SALE COMMENT

This beautiful set was sold for HK$ 43M including premium, the same price as the above referred necklace that had been sold in 2010. This is a chance because the sizes cannot be compared.

For the lot sold today, the size of jade beads ranged between 3.5 and 10 mm and the length of the necklaces was 76 and 80 cm.

The Jade Necklace2010 SOLD 43 MHK$ including premium

The sales of jewelry in Hong Kong are eagerly awaited by connoisseurs. They are finding therein some top diamonds, gemstones, pearls and jade.

Highly appreciated in the Far East, jade is able to compete with diamond. This mineral rock can be carved, which is not the case of the diamond which is cut. Jade is a generic term that applies to jadeite and nephrite.

On April 7, Sotheby's is selling a necklace 53 cm long, assembled with 35 jadeite beads, selected for their homogeneous emerald green color and for their similar size, between 12.5 and 15 mm. This piece is equipped with a clasp in platinum and diamonds signed by Cartier.

Such a collecting of jade beads from natural origin is a technical feat. In support of the estimated HK $ 38 million, the press release indicates that the jadeite is revered as a symbol of virtue and immortality.

POST SALE COMMENTYes! The jade can generate an interest equal to that of diamond in top jewelry sales.

Three lots in a similar range of estimates were proposed in this auction. A pear shaped vivid blue diamond weighing 5.16 carat has been sold HK $ 50 million. A necklace with 107 carats of white diamonds was sold HK $ 52 million.

And the jade necklace was sold HK $ 43 million, around its low estimate.